"Tiger"
(1990-2008)
Tiger was put to sleep on November 25, 2008, he was at least 18 years old
November 2007 - at age 17 (approximately)
On December 16, 1993 I took in my very first cat. For the previous couple of days an orange tabby had been scrounging
through the garbage near my apartment. There was just something about this hungry boy that called out to me. The winter's
cold made me feel even more sorry for him, so I took him in. I named him "Tiger", and the vet said that he was between
three and five years old at the time. I chose three. So he could actually be a couple of year older than the ages indicated
on this page. When I took Tiger in, I was 27 years old and petless. After just two nights, Tiger was sleeping with me on my bed
- a habit that lasted for the next 15 years.
Tiger was one of those cats who didn't ask for much, but gave plenty. He would excitedly run to me any time I called
his name. He loved playing with me or the other cats that I got after him. He nuzzled my hand each night for affection,
and purred for many minutes next to my head until he fell asleep. All the female kitties instantly fell in love
with Tiger. Even ferals such as
Princess who wouldn't let a human
touch them, let their guards down for Tiger. Such naked affection is a moving sight to see. As you can see in the below
pictures and videos, Tiger often groomed the gals quite a bit. He was the only cat they would let groom them. He was playful
well into old age, and he showed his happiness with his "Tiger Trot". He was very smart - he knew his feline friend "Linda's"
name. If I asked him where "Linda" was, he would start looking for her. Also, when he heard my home's central heat kick on
in the wintertime, he would trot up the cat walks and lay right in front of a heater vent.
On September 1, 2007 Tiger's left hind leg went limp. During the following week he regained full use of it, but it was
later discovered that he had suffered a
heart attack which threw a blood clot causing the temporary paralysis
of his hind leg. He was at least 17 at the time and in great shape for a cat that age. After a few tests (including
two ultra sounds and several chest X-rays) it was revealed that Tiger's heart was only contracting at 20% of what it
should be, and that his failing heart was causing fluid to press on his lungs making it a little harder for him to breathe.
Some vets gave him only 3 months to live, but with lots of TCL and a few Lasix injections to remove fluid from his chest,
he lived another 14 months. And he was remarkably healthy for the first 12 of those 14 months. But eventually
he began losing weight, and the Lasix stopped removing fluid very well - making him extremely tired. He was put
down on November 25, 2008. He was at least 18 years old at the time. Tiger sure was one heck of a special cat.
He was THE reason why I became a cat lover. So it was because of Tiger that I built
catwalks and
a
cat enclosure, and found good homes (often my home) for many strays. He will never be forgotten.
Below are some pictures of Tiger, followed by several short video clips.
December 1993 - age 3
This was one of the first pictures ever taken of Tiger. I had just taken him in a week or so earlier. My Mom and
Dad bought Tiger that carpeted house - which proved to be his favorite place to play for the rest of his life.
April 1994 - Tiger age 3
Tiger and me just after we moved from my apartment to my house. At this point he was still my only pet. I was
about to turn 28.
June 1995 - Tiger age 5, Linda age 10 months
It's hard to think about Tiger without thinking about
"Linda".
Actually it's hard to think about Tiger without thinking about how the female cats adored him - and how he would groom them.
I got Linda from the Oak Cliff Animal Shelter about a year after I took in Tiger. By that time, Tiger and I had moved
from the apartment into a house. I kept Tiger & Linda separated for two days - to induce curiosity about each other. Within a
couple of days of being together Tiger was grooming Linda. And they were best friends for the next 14 years. The above
picture won honorable mention at the 1995 State Fair of Texas.
May 2002 - Tiger age 11, Linda age 7
The living room was one of Tiger & Linda's favorite places to play. Linda would pull down the plastic plant in the
left of the picture by standing on her hind legs and grabbing the plant with her front paws and then walking backwards.
Once the plant was on the ground, Linda enjoyed playing in the plastic leaves. Tiger liked it when I'd play with the
mouse tied to the fishing pole. I spent a lot of time on that floor playing with those two kitties. I enjoyed every
minute.
May 2002 - Tiger age 11, Linda age 7
My friend, Nancy, called Tiger & Linda "story book cats". They certainly made a cute pair.
When Tiger was 11 he developed a pretty bad bladder infection. I was stunned when an X-ray revealed a pellet (the white,
hourglass-shaped object) lodged in Tiger's back. He must have been shot before I took him in back in 1993. It's
heartbreaking to think of someone deliberately aiming a gun at Tiger and pulling the trigger. It undoubtedly caused him
great pain. Scratching out an existence on the streets was certainly tough enough without being shot. It's amazing that
he survived. It's even more amazing that he turned out to be such a gentle ol' soul. Unfortunately his vet, Dr. Fling,
said that she sees stuff like this with regards to cats a lot. Heartbreaking indeed.
An interesting aside:
Note the faint collar bones on the far right side of the picture - they look like thin toothpicks on each side of his
neck. Dr. Fling said that very few cats have two very distinct collar bones like that. Most cats either have no collar
bones or just one.
June 2002 - Tiger age 11, Linda age 7
Tiger (left) and Linda loved laying together in my bay window. As you can see, Linda often wanted to be as close to
Tiger as felinely possible.
Sept. 2002 - age 12
Tiger's favorite place to play was at his carpeted house. Mom & Dad bought that for him just after I took him in
back in December 1993. He played on it for 15 years.
Feb. 2005 - Tiger age 14, Princess age 3
In May 2004 I took in the semi-feral, one-eyed, black cat,
Princess, making her my third
cat at that time. Princess wouldn't let me touch her, but she instantly fell in love with Tiger. If ever there was
a case of love at first sight, this was it. In fact, all the gals fell for Tiger at first sight. It was very touching
to watch Princess give so much of herself to Tiger, when she trusted no other animal on the planet (including my other
female kitty, "Linda"). Yep, Tiger was a special guy.
Dec. 2005 - age 15
Tiger enjoyed the
catwalks I built in my house. At night, just
before I'd turn off my lights to go to sleep, he would often run full-bore across the catwalk in my bedroom and then
pounce down the cat steps, leap over a cat tunnel on my floor, and dart into the hallway and then into the den. Seconds
later he'd be on my bed wanting some affection before curling up next to my head for the night. During the winter he
would listen for the sound of the central heater coming on and would dart up the catwalks and lay in front of the
heater vent. He was a pretty smart fella.
Dec. 2006 - Tiger age 16, Linda age 12, Princess age 5
Even though Linda (gray tabby) and Princess (black) didn't care much for each other, they would tolerate being close
to one another if it meant they could be close to Tiger. He certainly had a magical way with the ladies.
April 2007 - Tiger age 16, Princess age 5
July 2007 - Tiger nearly 17, Josie age 3 months
In June 2007, I took in
"Josie", making her my fourth cat at that time. My other two females,
Linda & Princess, didn't care for Josie - but Tiger tolerated her. Josie was an
extremely playful kitten, so
Tiger would periodically have to set some boundaries with a hiss or two. But being the gentleman that he was, Tiger put
up with a lot of play from her. Unfortunately, Tiger curtailed his play after I got Josie because if he would run across
the floor, Josie would become extremely excited and want to tackle him. Oh, that Josie. Sometimes I would separate them
into different rooms so that I could let Tiger play without fear of being pounced on. Three months after I got Josie,
Tiger suffered a heart attack. Although his severe cardiomyopathy didn't slow him down much at first, I often kept
those two separated - in an effort to provide Tiger with a relatively calm environment.
Feb. 2008 - Tiger age 17, Princess age 6, Josie age 10 months
Tiger is in the middle of the poignant picture, Josie is up and to the left, Princess is sitting on the window sill
(partially obscured). Tiger had been diagnosed with heart failure for five months at this point and was doing quite
well.
May 2008 - age 17
Tiger loved going out into the cat enclosure. Princess also enjoyed being outside; she and Tiger often laid close
to one another on a shelf as they soaked up the sun and felt the wind move through their fur. Tiger had been diagnosed
with heart failure for eight months at this point, and he was still doing very well.
Sept. 2008 - Tiger age 18, Princess age 7
It had been one year since his heart attack and subsequent diagnosis of heart failure. Tiger had remained remarkably
healthy up to this point. After this point, however, his weight loss accelerated and the LASIX seemed to have stopped
clearing the fluid from his chest as well as it had. He lived another two months after this photo was taken. He was at
least 18 years old when he was put down. He was my buddy for 15 years, and I will always miss him.
Windows Media Player Video Clips
If you don't have the latest version of the Windows Media Player you can get the free version by
clicking
here.
Very first video of Tiger (approx. 3.5 yrs old) - December 1993
Tiger playing in his new carpeted cat house - December 1993
Tiger playing near stuffed dog - June 1994
Tiger interested in cat Xmas music - December 1994
Tiger playing with toy from Linda McReynolds - December 1994
Tiger playing in Xmas gift tunnel - December 1994
Tiger & Linda first see each other (Tiger 4, Linda 6 mos.) - January 1995
Tiger following Linda around house - January 1995
Tiger & Linda play fighting - January 1995
Tiger & Linda groom each other - January 1995
Tiger & Linda grooming eachother - January 1995
Tiger & Linda playing - January 1995
Brad in bed with Tiger & Linda (Brad age 28, Tiger 4, Linda 6 mos) - January 1995
Tiger & Linda in Cat Run for first time - February 1995
Tiger & Linda on their bdays Part I (Tiger 5, Linda 1) - August 1995
Tiger & Linda on their bdays Part II - August 1995
Linda pulling down plastic tree Part I - August 1995
Linda pulling down plastic tree Part II - August 1995
Tiger & Linda playing in plastic tree - Aug. 1995
Tiger & Linda playing on Halloween 1995 (Tiger 5, Linda 1)
Tiger & Linda playing in cat enclosure - Oct. 1995
Tiger & Linda rough housing cat enclosure - Oct. 1995
Tiger & Linda play fighting (Tiger 5, Linda 1) - Oct. 1995
Tiger & Linda grooming each other (Tiger 9, Linda 5) - December 1999
Tiger & Linda on the catwalks - November 2001
Tiger & Linda playing in living room - November 2001
Tiger & Linda snuggled up together - December 2001
Tiger & Linda grooming each other - May 2002
Tiger feeling good after a bladder infection - May 2002
Tiger's nighttime routine (age 12) - January 2003
Tiger purring at night - January 2003
Tiger & Linda in the large enclosure - June 2003
Tiger & Linda playing at carpeted house (Tiger 13, Linda 9) - August 2003
Tiger playing with feather - August 2003
Tiger in cat enclosure - August 2003
Tiger playing with feather (age 13) - Oct 2003
Tiger & Princess early contact Part I (Tiger 14, Princess 3) - August 2004
Tiger & Princess early contact Part II - August 2004
Tiger & Princess early contact Part III - August 2004
Tiger, Linda, Princess - January 2005
Tiger & Princess grooming each other (Tiger 14, Princess 3) - January 2005
Tiger on his 15th b-day - August 1, 2005
Tiger & Princess on Sali's tower (Tiger 16, Princess 5) - January 2007
Tiger on Sali's tower (Tiger age 16) - January 2007
Tiger loving on his stick - May 2007
Tiger & Linda playing (Tiger 16, Linda 12) - May 2007
Tiger & Josie early contact (Tiger nearly 17 yrs, Josie 7 wks) - June 14, 2007
Josie playing rough with Tiger (Tiger 17, Josie 3 mos.) - August 2, 2007
Josie playing with the feather with Nancy (Josie age 7 mos.) - December 2007
Tiger & Princess on cat walks (Tiger 17, Princess 6) - December 2007
A contented Tiger (age 17) - December 2007
Other Related Links On My Site:
My Cats' Home Page
The Catrun
The Large Cat Enclosure
Catwalks Inside My House
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